Coronavirus in Illinois updates: Here’s what happened May 12 with COVID-19 in the Chicago area

Illinois officials on Tuesday announced 4,014 new known cases of the coronavirus, the most in a single-day since the pandemic began. In all, there have been 83,021 known cases statewide.

The spike in new confirmed cases was accompanied by the largest number of COVID-19 tests conducted across the state in a 24 hour period. The 29,266 tests reported Tuesday topped Friday’s previous high of 20,671.

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The state also announced 144 additional fatalities, tying the second-highest daily total reported so far. That brings the overall death toll to 3,601 since the pandemic began.

The Chicago-based sandwich chain, which had been in the midst of a turnaround when the coronavirus pandemic struck, saw sales at stores open at least 15 months drop 68% in March, the company said Tuesday in releasing its first quarter earnings.

The quarter had been looking good before that, with sales up 2.5% for the first 10 weeks of the year, and the company had hoped to report its first positive sales at comparable stores in more than three years. Instead, it ended the quarter down 10%.

Revenues overall fell 11% to $87.6 million and the company reported an adjusted net loss of $7.7 million for the quarter.

Potbelly came under fire when it was approved for $10 million in funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program meant for small business. Under public pressure, it returned the money.

The company, which has about 470 restaurants, has slashed costs to try to weather the sales hit. It furloughed a third of its corporate employees, cut salaries for executives and corporate employees by 25% and temporarily closed 36 company-operated restaurants. Read more here. —Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz

Long-established elements of structural racism, from substandard housing to mass incarceration to limited job opportunities, are responsible for the disproportionate toll COVID-19 is taking on African Americans in Chicago and elsewhere, a new paper from the Chicago Urban League argues.

The paper, released Tuesday, notes that black residents account for 30% of Chicago’s population but 54% of the city’s coronavirus deaths. Similar lopsided figures can be seen in Milwaukee, St. Louis, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and other cities.

“How can we live in the wealthiest country in the world and have such stark inequities?” said report co-author Kathie Kane-Willis. “It’s just not right.”

The report says African Americans are more likely than other races to be infected by the virus because of larger structural forces, starting with job opportunities. Black people represent an outsize portion of employees who work in jobs that heighten their risk of exposure, from bus drivers to nursing aides to mail sorters, and are less likely to be able to work from home.

Black people are also more likely to live in overcrowded conditions, in households with older family members who are more vulnerable to the virus, or in homeless shelters, nursing homes or jails, the report says.

“Jails and prisons have a steady influx of people into and out of the facilities," the paper says. “It is a daily, constant churn of new detainees, staff and volunteers, and contracted workers all entering into the facilities from the community. The buildings themselves are often overcrowded, or structured in such a way that people spend time double or triple-bunked, or sleeping in dormitory-style housing.”

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Once infected, the paper says, African Americans are more likely to die from COVID-19 than people of other races because of other factors grounded in discrimination, from a lack of access to health care to segregated neighborhoods where airborne pollutants and lead levels are especially high. Read more here. —John Keilman

4:45 p.m.: With MLB considering pandemic-shortened season, Pritzker says people ‘deserve to get their pastime back’

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker was asked Tuesday about Major League Baseball’s possible pandemic-shortened season starting later this summer and the potential it could be delayed by negotiations between players and team owners.

“I realize that the players have the right to haggle over their salaries, but we do live in a moment where, you know, the people of Illinois, the people of the United States deserve to get their pastime back, to watch anyway, on television,” Pritzker said. “I, you know, if they’re able to come up with safety precautions as has been suggested by Major League Baseball that works, I hope that the players will understand that the people of our United States need them to recognize that this is (an) important part of the kind of leisure time that all of us want to have during the summer — to watch them play baseball to root for our favorite teams. We need that back, that normalcy back, and hope they’ll be reasonable.”

Pritzker, a billionaire, also said he was “disappointed in many ways that players are, you know, holding out for, you know, these very, very high salaries and payments, during a time when I think everybody is sacrificing.” —Chicago Tribune staff

Nearly five years after emigrating from Nigeria, Ijeoma Afuke was within reach of realizing two major goals.

The certified nursing assistant was studying to become a nurse in the United States. Afuke’s exam was scheduled in June.

She also had completed the requirements to become a United States citizen and had an important interview in April that was postponed due to the emergence of the coronavirus.

Before she could reschedule it, the 35-year-old Chicago woman became another casualty working on the pandemic’s front line in the health care sector.

Afuke died April 29 at Stroger Hospital of pneumonia related to a COVID-19 infection. She did not have a serious underlying medical condition that made her more vulnerable to the virus, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Her husband, JJ Afuke, said he believes Ijeoma contracted the virus while working for MADO Healthcare in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood. The nursing facility had an outbreak of 50 confirmed cases among residents and staff and three deaths as of Friday, state public health officials said, citing the most current information available. Read more here. —Christy Gutowski

4:17 p.m.: Applying for unemployment benefits for the first time? Here are 7 things you need to know.

Millions of Americans are learning a new skill this spring — how to file for unemployment insurance.

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in job losses, both temporary and permanent. Nationally, the U.S. unemployment rate hit 14.7% in April, the highest rate since the Great Depression.

4:07 p.m.: Morton Arboretum to reopen for members June 1

The last of Chicago’s major nature parks to close because of coronavirus, Morton Arboretum, is also the first to announce its reopening.

Beginning June 1, the expansive collection of pathways, trails and roads through cultivated forests in west suburban Lisle will begin allowing members back onto its grounds, Morton said Tuesday afternoon.

Calling it a phased reopening, the arboretum plans to welcome only members through June 14, with nonmembers allowed in from the 15th on. Visitors must reserve a timed-entry pass in advance, social distancing rules will be observed, and all buildings, including indoor restrooms, and the Children’s Garden and Maze Garden will remain closed. Read more here. —Steve Johnson

3:27 p.m.: Hyatt to cut 350 workers in Chicago as part of wider layoffs prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic

Hyatt Hotels Corp. will begin laying off some 1,300 of its corporate employees around the world next month, including about 350 people in Chicago.

The cuts represent roughly a third of the staff at its Chicago headquarters, a Hyatt spokesperson said Tuesday.

The wave of pink slips are another result of the pandemic that’s ground travel to a halt, decimated demand for hotel rooms and rocketed the U.S. unemployment rate to a Depression-era level of 14.7%.

Hyatt had looked to save money by making cuts to executive salaries and reducing other corporate employees’ pay and work schedules, but the hotel chain said these moves haven’t been enough to see the company through this “unprecedented challenge.” Read more here. —Lori Rackl

3:15 p.m.: Illinois attorney who filed lawsuits against Pritzker for stay-at-home order now working with dozens of businesses that have reopened, filing suit for others

After pouring time and money into his biker bar, Poopy’s, for 24 years, Kevin Promenschenkel faced a coronavirus reckoning: If he wasn’t able to reopen for his annual Memorial Day concert and summer kickoff, his business would not survive.

So the western Illinois bar owner hired lawyer Tom DeVore to file a lawsuit on his behalf Monday against Gov. J. B. Pritzker because of the executive order he signed, effectively shuttering some nonessential businesses starting March 21.

The St. Louis-area lawyer has become the go-to guy for businesses in the south and west parts of the state chafing at the stay-at-home rules. He also filed suits on behalf of a hairdresser and two Republican elected officials, and is representing about 80 other small businesses.

When he hasn’t filed suit, DeVore has written letters notifying local authorities that each of the businesses intended to reopen despite the stay-at-home-order. Most of the businesses that don’t require special state licenses have already re-opened, seemingly daring local or state officials to do something about it. Read more here. —Katherine Rosenberg-Douglas

3 p.m.: Pritzker says General Assembly ‘must convene’

After leaving a return to Springfield in the hands of legislative leaders for weeks, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Tuesday that the General Assembly “must convene so that we can begin to put our financial and economic house back in order.”

“Even as we battle this terrible virus, the General Assembly needs to pass a comprehensive plan to support families, small businesses and small towns,” Pritzker said.

Republican leaders in the legislature have been calling for weeks for lawmakers to reconvene in Springfield, but House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President Don Harmon have been noncommittal.

Pritzker said he’s spoken with all four legislative leaders and encouraged them to reconvene.

“I think it would be best if they could get together before the end of May so that we can get the very necessary things done like our budget,” the governor said.

Lawmakers have a May 31 deadline to pass a state spending plan for the budget year that begins July 1. After that, approval requires a supermajority in each chamber. —Dan Petrella

Illinois hospitals will get $75 million in new money, and the state is hoping to send them another $250 million a year in Medicaid funding amid financial pressures related to the coronavirus.

It’s cash that could help hospitals, many of which have furloughed workers and made other cuts in recent weeks as they struggle with the costs of caring for COVID-19 patients, cancellations of elective surgeries, and seeing fewer non-virus patients.

The $75 million in government money is meant to help hospitals continue to provide COVID-19 services in their communities, and started going out in April, according to the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.

And the state has asked the federal government for approval of a separate plan that would add nearly $250 million to the state’s hospital assessment program, through which hospitals receive much of their Medicaid money. Medicaid is a state and federally funded health insurance program that serves people with low incomes and disabilities, among others.

Under the assessment program, hospitals contribute money into a fund, which receives a federal match. The money is then redistributed to hospitals based on a complex formula. Read more here. —Lisa Schencker

2:35 p.m.: Officials report 4,014 new cases and 144 more deaths

Officials on Tuesday reported 4,014 new known cases of COVID-19, the highest daily total since the outbreak began, as well as an additional 144 deaths. That brings the statewide total to 83,021 known cases, as well as a death toll totaling 3,601.

Illinois lawmakers are urging Congress to roll back a part of the federal relief package that denies financial assistance to U.S. citizens married to immigrant spouses.

U.S. Rep. Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia, D-Illinois, called on the U.S. House to “rectify these inequities in the coming days" at a news conference Tuesday.

There are more than 3,700 Illinois families who did not get stimulus checks due to the immigration status of a spouse, Garcia said.

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“Imagine being denied financial stimulus assistance simply because of the status of your spouse. Imagine U.S. children denied of assistance because their parents are undocumented,” Garcia said.

Several individuals married to immigrant spouses, including one in Illinois, have filed lawsuits against President Donald Trump claiming it is unconstitutional for the federal government to exclude them from any financial assistance because of who they married.

On April 24, an Illinois man under the pseudonym John Doe filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against President Trump, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, alleging a provision of the coronavirus relief package denying $1,200 stimulus checks to Americans married to immigrants without Social Security numbers is discriminatory. Read more here. —Abdel Jimenez

12:50 p.m.: United Airlines will give passengers worried about COVID-19 on packed flights a chance to rebook

United Airlines said it will give passengers on crowded flights a chance to rebook before they fly after some travelers were surprised by fuller-than-expected planes, raising concerns about a lack of social distancing.

Starting next week, United said it will try to contact travelers 24 hours in advance if a flight appears to be nearly full so they can switch to a different flight or take a travel credit. The option will also be available at the gate if more than 70% of passengers have checked in.

It’s easy to understand why travelers would expect plenty of empty seats. The number of travelers going through airport security screening is down more than 90% compared with last year, according to the Transportation Security Administration. United said 85% of its flights are less than half full.

But airlines have also dramatically cut the number of flights they operate, meaning some can still fill up. Read more here. —Lauren Zumbach

Businessman Willie Wilson is threatening to sue the state of Illinois unless Gov. J.B. Pritzker sets aside money to help poor people buy masks to wear in public places during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Pritzker issued an executive order this month requiring people in stores and other public places where they can’t socially distance to wear some kind of face covering.

While the governor’s order said coverings could be fashioned from pieces of cloth or shirts, Wilson in a letter to the governor argued people may not be able to do that, and said “scientific studies suggest that T-shirts, bandanas, scarves, and tea towels offer insufficient protection from the virus.”

“People should have the very best masks,” Wilson said Tuesday. “Poor people aren’t going to have masks. They’re going to try to go into stores and be put out because of that.”

If the governor doesn’t amend his order by Thursday to help fund the purchase of masks, Wilson said he would sue in federal court “to compel you to include provisions for the indigent and vulnerable."

Pritzker’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Read more here.— John Byrne

Potentially setting up a Sunday confrontation with defiant church leaders, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the city is prepared to enforce stay-at-home orders against houses of worship that continue holding in-person services.

Lightfoot made the comments at a Tuesday news conference where she was asked about church leaders vowing to continue holding religious services despite social distancing requirements. Previously, the mayor criticized the services as putting people at risk but said she preferred to do educational outreach.

Now, however, Lightfoot said the city will take some unspecified action to enforce the stay-at-home orders.

“We’re going to be communicating over and over again over the course of this week. I understand that people are getting anxious. But defying common sense and public health guidance only puts their congregations at physical risk," Lightfoot said. “We don’t want to see a cluster break out because faith leaders believe they have only one way of showing their reverence to the God that they worship. The Bible tells us, where two or more are gathered in my name, there will I be also. There’s lots of ways in which we show our devotion to our faith that don’t include physically putting people at risk.”

She added: "We’re going to continue to have that discussion but, if necessary, we are going to take action to make sure there is compliance to the stay-at-home orders.” Read more here. — Gregory Pratt

10:55 a.m.: As MLB considers a pandemic-shortened season, Mayor Lori Lightfoot says she doesn’t think Chicago will be ready for large crowds by July

Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she doesn’t believe Chicago will be ready for “large crowds in a ballfield” by July and said any plan to start the professional baseball season must be done in consultation with local cities.

Lightfoot made the comments Tuesday when asked about a plan advanced by Major League Baseball owners to the players union that could lead to the coronavirus-delayed season starting around the Fourth of July weekend in ballparks without fans.“

From the Chicago perspective, we need to make sure that can be done safely,” Lightfoot said. “I can’t predict where we’re going to be in July. I think there’s got to be a lot of coordination and conversation from MLB, the local teams, with their relevant city and health departments. I’m not going to support something that puts people at risk and I certainly don’t think we’re going to be ready in July for having large crowds in a ballfield.”

Still, Lightfoot said, the city can consider the possibility if it can be done safely.Under the owners’ plan, spring training could start in early to mid-June, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because details of the plan were not announced. Read more here. — Gregory Pratt

10:30 a.m.: Sheriff Tom Dart appealing judge’s order on social distancing, other measures at Cook County Jail

Sheriff Tom Dart accused lawyers for Cook County Jail detainees in a court filing Monday of playing a game of “constitutional whack-a-mole” over the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, saying he’s appealing a federal judge’s order dictating social distancing and other protocols at the sprawling Southwest Side facility.

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Last month, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly issued a preliminary injunction mandating specific measures to battle the spread of coronavirus at the jail, including additional testing, social distancing, and banning double-inmate cells and group housing in most cases. The judge denied other relief sought by the plaintiffs, including ordering the release of medically vulnerable detainees due to the pandemic.

The ruling came as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed by the Loevy and Loevy law firm and the MacArthur Justice Center at Northwestern University alleging Dart has failed to stop a “rapidly unfolding public health disaster” at the jail, which has been identified as one of the nations’ leading hot spots for coronavirus infections.

In a 29-page brief filed late Monday, lawyers for the sheriff fired back at continued efforts by plaintiffs’ attorneys to seek the release of detainees, accusing them of using the pandemic to push a “decarceration” agenda that is disrupting efforts to keep inmates and staff safe.

The filing also alleged that the plaintiffs have shifted their demands so many times, “it is what the sheriff can only characterize as constitutional whack-a-mole.” Read more here. –Jason Meisner

9:25 a.m.: Expo Chicago art fair at Navy Pier moves to next spring

Claiming a new date on the American visual arts calendar, Expo Chicago, the big fall art fair on Navy Pier, is being postponed until next spring, the organization announced Tuesday.

The announcement of April 8-11, 2021, as the event’s next dates reflects an increasing understanding that the traditional late September long weekend was not going to fall early enough in the expected coronavirus recovery cycle, said Expo Chicago President and Director Tony Karman.

A month ago, Karman still hoped that the 8-year-old event, which brings together galleries, collectors, curators and other art lovers, could take place on the planned September 24-27, 2020, dates. Read more here.-Steve Johnson

6:50 a.m.: Chicago to require food-delivery apps to disclose costs

Chicago next week will start requiring third-party food delivery apps to disclose the details of costs to consumers after use of the apps has exploded during the coronavirus and the costs have drawn scrutiny because of restaurant complaints.

The city says the rules being released Tuesday are the first in the country to require the apps, such as GrubHub, UberEats, Postmates and DoorDash, to give customers a detailed breakdown of transactions. All receipts will have to include items such as the menu price of food, taxes, delivery charge, tip and any commission or service fee a restaurant pays, according to a news release.

The app companies have come under fire from restaurants since the beginning of COVID-19-related lockdowns as restaurants struggle to stay in business on the strength of their takeout and delivery orders alone. Recently, a viral Facebook post of a GrubHub receipt for a restaurant that earned $376.54 on bills to customers of $1,042.63 drew new scrutiny for the app.

“These new rules will be in place permanently and apply to all websites, mobile applications or other internet services that offer or arrange the sale of food or beverages by a restaurant, bar or other food-serving establishments,” according to the release.

The requirements, being put in place by the city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Department, “will provide customers with the details they need to make fully-informed purchasing decisions,” according to the release.

The rules were set to go into effect May 22, according to the city. — Chicago Tribune staff

6 a.m.: A summer without swimming? Pools could be ‘one of the last places’ to reopen as coronavirus restrictions begin to ease

It could be a summer without swimming in Illinois, as park districts and private clubs try to determine if and when it’s safe to open pools.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase plan to reopen the state touches on health clubs and outdoor activities, but there is currently no specific guidance available for opening pools.

“I suspect that pools are going to be one of the last places that are going to be allowed to be open,” University of Chicago chief epidemiologist Dr. Emily Landon said.

There is no evidence that COVID-19 can spread through water in pools, hot tubs or water parks, and “proper operation and disinfection” of such facilities “should” kill the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website.

“I mean, (pool disinfection is) meant to kill a lot of things that are significantly hardier, in the microbiologic world, than coronavirus,” Landon said.

Still, that doesn’t change the fact that it’s nearly impossible to social distance in a public pool, she said. Read more here. — Sophie Sherry

6 a.m.: Advocates say dog scams are on the rise as people seek puppies during the pandemic

A Mokena family out $250 after trying to buy a puppy from an online seller reported their situation to the Better Business Bureau, which says such scams are on the rise as homebound people look for companionship from new pets while stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Nationwide, the BBB received 371 complaints about dog scams in April, up from 118 during the same month last year, said Steve Baker, a St. Louis-based investigator for the consumer group and former head of the Midwest region of the Federal Trade Commission.

While pet rip-offs existed well before the pandemic, they are among the various scams — from fake tests and cures to bogus government aid — that authorities and consumer groups have warned about as fraudsters seek to exploit people’s fears and needs during the crisis. As of mid-April, the FTC had taken 18,235 reports of COVID-19-related scams of all types nationwide, according to the agency. Read more here. — Dan Hinkel